Crazy things happen in this sport, and you have to be ready. And for me, luck is when preparation meets opportunity.
— Kamaru Usman
For what we do training, as a fighter, you have to be able to flip that switch where you turn into that savage, that guy that's prepared to go to war.
I'm good everywhere. I can defend the takedowns. I can get a guy down if I want them. I can keep it standing and strike. I can do it all.
Not everybody out here trains with me; not everybody knows what I'm capable of. My coaches know what I'm capable of, my training partners know what I'm capable of, and I know what I'm capable of.
I will be unhappy if RDA ducks me. I will be very unhappy.
Listen, anybody can put their head down and throw a haymaker and pray and hope it lands.
Once I go into these fights, and we have to go through the ringer to prepare for them, and we know I'm not 100 percent going in, winning is the most important thing, and dominating is the most important thing, and that's what we've been doing.
A lot of people forget that Americans are immigrants. People are forgetting that, to where people have this attitude, 'We're Americans, go back to your country. Go back. This is a free country.' I always heard that growing up. I always heard that.
I'm a realist.
At the end of the day, I'm a professional.
When you're doing something like wrestling - wrestling is one of the toughest and hardest martial arts to learn - but it's still a form of martial arts. It's still controlled.
I'm a people watcher, and I love to listen.
There comes a time in our careers that you get that one guy. That guy that just makes your blood boil. That really pulls the savage out of you.
I can't fight forever. Commentating is one of those major things that I definitely feel I want to do and can do.
I believe that I'm not just a fighter in this game; I love to study the sport. And in studying the sport, I believe I have a good eye for the sport, and I'm able to talk about the sport.
I'm not the ugliest guy in the world.
Nothing but respect for Demian Maia.
It's my job to show up, make weight, and prepare to be a world champion if that opportunity presents itself.
My thing is, if you're going to talk online, if you're going to come at me with a certain energy, when you see me on-site, keep that certain energy. That's it. That's it. That's all I am.
Nobody - nobody - in my division wants to fight me, because I am the hardest fight for anybody.
I study this sport.
When I eventually get my hands on Covington, its more than just a fight: it symbolizes so many other things. It symbolizes the attitude toward immigrants in this country and around the world.
When it comes down to digging, can't nobody dig as hard as I can dig.
My mind is strong.
I've already proved I have what it takes to be the champion. I'm right there.
My parents didn't want me to do this. My dad, when I told him I wanted to wrestle, he told me no, if you're going to play any sports, play baseball.
That's why I think that I have a big advantage, because I work on my striking a ton, but I don't forget about my wrestling, what brought me to the dance.
I would love to fight a lot more often, but of course it's the UFC, and whenever they feel that they have an opening, then they can put us in there because there's so many fighters.
I love to study people, and that's basically what sociology is.
Fighters no longer manage themselves: they have a whole team behind them. A fighter has a manager, an agent, a Hollywood agent - they got this and that. And on top of that, they've got their whole team of coaches.
I believe that, just naturally, I'm a very soft-spoken person. Everyone tells me that on a daily basis - 'Speak up, we can't hear you,' or 'Elaborate on this.' But that's just how I am.
You can't say I don't have the confidence, because I have that.
Can't nobody handle me.
You never say never. That's one of the lessons I've learned.
Demian Maia, he's a legend. He's a veteran in the game. He knows how to fight. He's been through so many five-round fights. He's headlined a lot of cards, fought Anderson Silva for the title, fought Tyron Woodley for the title. He's a veteran, he knows how to fight, and he's always training. He's a jiu-jitsu wizard.
Once you have an opponent in your mind that you're preparing for, you're working on specifics, and you get guys in to mimic what they do.
I think Mike Perry is a guy the fans actually care about.
You can't out-wrestle me. You can't out-strike me. You don't have more power than me.
It's one thing to get somebody down on the ground, but it's another thing to finish him there.
When you go to hotels, who are the maids who work at most of those hotels? A lot of them are immigrants. We take pride in that because we're in a better place and want to provide for our families.
I'm the type of person who's never said never.
One thing about me is that my parents didn't force me to be an athlete.
USADA is wonderful, I think they're doing a remarkable job, and they do a remarkable job all around the world.
I think it's great to have USADA come in and clean up the sport, because what I don't want to do is train my butt off for 10 weeks to prepare for a fight for a limited amount of money to feed my family, then get out there with a guy that maybe put in 3 weeks training and cheated.
I believe the UFC was sold based on their performance and the services they've provided, so if a company comes in and buys it, they just bought the blueprints of their success. I believe that WME-IMG bought the UFC because of its structure and success.
The fight game has changed to where it's no longer the toughest is fighting the toughest to be the best on the planet.
Fighting is just something that's gonna open doors for things to come in the future.
You can't say that I don't have the skills. You can't say that. I have the skills.
I want Dong Hyun Kim. He's a grappler, he's a strong stand-up fighter, and I think that would be a great fight. I think I beat him every and anywhere.
